Man spends night in woods, emerges uninjured

Jan 18, 2013

Lincolnville — Lincolnville Inland Harbormaster Justin Twitchell responded to a reported complaint of a vehicle being parked at Fernald’s Neck Preserve overnight with no sign the occupant of the vehicle had made it out of the Preserve.

Twitchell determined the vehicle had been parked in that location since the day before, Dec. 23, and observed a key had been left in the vehicle as well as an open container of an alcoholic beverage. Twitchell ran the license plate through Knox dispatch receiving the name and address of the registered vehicle’s owner.

Following a check of the person’s residence and unable establish contact, Twitchell reported the information to Lincolnville Police Department and Waldo County Sheriff’s Office. Although no complaints of a missing person had been reported, Twitchell had concerns as to the person's wellbeing and whereabouts and began hiking the trails in the event the person had become stranded or lost.

An initial search of the most used trails was unsuccessful, but when Twitchell entered the loop trails he observed a man walking toward him. Twitchell determined the man to be the registered owner of vehicle. The man explained he had chosen to hike an unfamiliar trail the afternoon and became lost. When darkness fell, the man chose to spend the night in the woods rather than navigate in the dark.

Twitchell determined the hiker to be in good health with no medical concerns, then escorted the person back to his vehicle. The person was advised it was required to sign in and register at the parking area and issued a verbal warning regarding open alcohol containers. Twitchell followed the person to his residence and cleared the complaint.